This invention relates to light deflectors of the type having a mirror which is deformable by piezoelectric actuators for deflecting light beams.
In the prior art, there are a variety of piezoelectrically actuated light deflectors, such as shown in the U.S. Pats., to Thaxter No. 3,758,199, to Fowler et al, No. 3,544,201, and to Feinleib, No. 3,904,274.
The deformable mirrors in the foregoing prior art use either linear stacks of piezoelectric crystals or single linear piezoelectric slab, and require a rigid attachment of the actuators to the mirrors in order to exert pressure and tension on the face of the mirror. This rigid attachment causes unwanted side loads and/or unwanted slope changes on the face of the mirror.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a piezoelectrically actuated deformable mirror which is not rigidly attached to the piezoelectric actuators and avoids unwanted side loads and unwanted slope changes on the face of the mirror.
Still another object of this invention is to improve prior art by providing a system which permits controlled variations in the overall face of a deformable mirror, or in any local area of the mirror.